Biorned. 

WU  • 
9 
A934a 

1874 


G     000  005  893     3 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


ADDRESS 


DKTilVEKKD    KKFORE   THE 


^iiicrjraii    ^tailfiiiji    of   |}ental    jdcnte, 


AT    THEIR 


SIXTH   ANNUAL   MEETING, 


I^ELD    IN  ^OSTON,  JSePT.   29,   1873, 


BY 


P.  H.  AUSTEN,  M.  A.,  M.  D. 


BOSTON : 

I^K-INTED    HY    JAS.     HARHIS    &    CO. 

No.    19    Spring    Lane. 
1874. 


ADDRESS    /^c. 

DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE 


^nurudu    ^aitemu   0!   |}ental    $deute. 


AT    THEIR 


SIXTH   ANNUAL   MEETING, 


]4eld  in  Boston,  ^^pt.  29,  1873, 


BY 


P.  H.  AUSTEN,  M.  A.,  M.  D. 


BOSTON: 

JPR,IT>rTE13    BY    J^^S.     IiA.IlR,IS    &    CO, 

No.    19    Spring    Lane. 

18  7-i. 


Boston,  Sept.  29,  1873. 


nn 


Prof.  P.  H.  Austen, — 

Dear  Sir:  At  the  Sixth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Dental  Science,  held  this  day,  in  Uoston,  it  was  unanimously 

Rewlved,  "That  the  hearty  thanks  of  the  Academy  be  presented  to  Prof. 
P.  H.  Austen,  of  Baltimore,  for  his  very  able  and  excellent  address,  and 
that  a  copy  be  requested  for  publication  and  for  preservation  in  the  archives 
of  the  Academy." 

Sincerely  hoping  that  you  will  comply  with  this  request, 
I  am,  with  high  regard, 

Very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  N.  HARRIS, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


Baltimore,  Dec.  18,  1873. 
Dr.  E.  N.  Harris,  Cor.  Sec^y  American  Academy  of  Dental  Science, — 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  must  repeat  to  you  my  regret  that  the  paper  forwarded 
for  reading  before  your  honorable  Society  was  completed  under  circum- 
stances of  ill  health,  which  forbade  that  full  and  careful  treatment  of  my 
subject  originally  intended.  A  recent  relapse  will  prevent  me,  for  I  know 
not  how  long,  from  sending  you  a  revised  copy  for  publication. 

The  original  manuscript  is,  however,  with  all  its  deficiences,  the  property 
of  the  Society.  Should  they  think  its  publication  calculated  to  elicit  fuller 
discussion  of  the  very  important  subjects  therein  imperfectly  presented,  I 
will  not,  in  view  of  so  desirable  a  result,  urge  any  objection. 

Believe  me  ever,  with  high  regard  for  yourself  and  your  fellow  Academ- 
icians, 

Very  sincerelv  vours, 

P.  H.  AUSTEN. 


ADDR  ESS 


Mr.   Pvesklent  and  Fellows  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Dental  Science  : 

Medicixe  is  as  old  as  liumau  disease,  which  it  seeks  to 
cure  ;  and  Mechanism  dates  as  far  ]:>ack  as  the  wants  of 
mankind,  to  which  it  ministers. 

Youngest  born  of  these  two  is  Dentistry,  bearing  more 
distinctly  than  any  known  art  the  impress  of  its  double 
lineage.  For  what  branch  of  Medical  Art  so  dependent 
upon  mechanical  genius  ;  and  what  branch  of  Mechanism  so 
directly  addressed  to  the  relief  of  those  ills  which  human 
flesh  is  heir  to  ? 

The  childhood  of  Dentistiy  has  been  unfortunate,  in  that, 
while  disowned  by  one  parent,  it  has  been  taught  to  look 
down  upon  the  other.  For  Medicine,  in  all  ages,  has  been 
prone  to  despise  Hand-craft,  as  beneath  the  attention  of 
those  wlio  claim  that,  by  pure  mi<>ht  of  intellect,  they  can 
conquer  the  many-headed  hydra  —  Disease.  But  medical 
practice  is  no  longer  the  unit  it  once  was  ;  and  the  ' '  Fam- 
ily Physician"  is  soon  destined  to  become  an  institution 
of  the  past. 

As  the  centuries  roll  on,  the  boundaries  of  Science  and 
Art  are  enlarged,  but  the  measure  of  indiyidual  capacity 
remains    the   same.     Hence,   Medical  Practice   diyides   and 


6 


subdivicles,  in  order  to  the  fullest  deYelopment  of  its  several 
departments . 

The  ph^'sieian  has  no  longer  time  for  Pharmacy  or  Sur- 
gery ;  nor  dare  he  hereafter  affect  to  despise  Arts  quite 
as  essential  to  life  as  his  own  advice  and  prescription. 
Even  this  advice,  to  be  most  effective,  grows  out  of  the 
special  study  of  separate  organs. 

Thus  the  Body  Medical,  like  the  human  body  which  it 
studies,  is  composed  of  man}^  members.  "  The  eye  can  no 
longer  say  to  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee;"  for  so 
close  is  this  union,  that  when  one  member  sufters,  all  must 
suffer ;  and  when  one  is  honored,  all  should  rejoice.  Why 
in  this  great  family  of  the  ]\Iedical  Arts  is  young  Dentistry- 
so  neglected  and  excluded  from  the  family  circle  ?  Partly 
because  he  don't  like  his  books,  and  this  family  is  proud 
of  its  intellect  and  high  education ;  partly  because  he  is  too 
fond  of  his  grandfather's  workshop. 

The  first  is  a  grave  fault,  to  be  hereafter  noticed ;  but  is 
the  second  a  just  ground  of  reproach  ?  Shall  we  stigmatize 
Dentistiy,  born  in  this  19th  century  —  the  century  of  in- 
vention—  for  having  so  large  an  element  of  mechanism? 
Gentlemen  of  this  Academy,  guardians  of  Dentistry,  (as 
A^et  a  minor) ,  do  you  also  share  in  this  one-sided  pride  of 
lineage?  If  Mechanism,  j)er  se,  is  discreditable,  so  is  Den- 
tistry ;  for  it  is  its  very  life  blood.  As  well  might  a  man  be 
ashamed  of  his  own  mother. 

I  have  elsewhere  divided  Dental  Art  into  Medical,  Sur- 
gical,  and  Prosthetic.     The   two  first    connect   it  with   the 


healing  art,  and  demand  a  medical  education  ;'bnt  the  char- 
acteristic element  of  Dentistry  is  its  Prosthetics,  — just  as 
Therapeutics  is  the  specific  function  of  the  l^hysician.  To 
remove  diseased  structure,  and  replace  it  Avith  gold, — to 
remove  diseased  organs,  and  replace  them  with  porcelain, — 
is  the  work  Avhich  demands  nine-tenths  of  the  dentist's  time  ; 
success  in  which  gives  him  his  reputation. 

You  may  call  the  one  Operative  Dentistr}^,  and  the  other 
Mechanical  Dentistry,  if  you  choose  ;  but  each  consists  in  a 
series  of  operations,  and  both  are  purely  mechanical  manipu- 
lations of  material,  by  means  of  instruments  ;  both,  also, 
are  acts  of  replacement.  I  think  it,  therefore,  more  exact 
and  descriptive  to  subdivide  the  peculiar  work  of  Dentistry 
into  —  Structural  and  Organic  Prothesis. 

Both  are  so  difficult,  that  highest  excellence  in  either 
department  is  rare,  and  scarceh^  ever  do  we  meet  with  a 
"  double  first  class."  Hence,  the  practice  of  Dentistry  is 
itself  subdivided,  following  the  example  of  its  parent  art. 
But  subdivision  does  not  imply  less  honor  in  the  pursuit,  so 
long  as  we  recognize,  in  preparation  for  it,  the  necessity  of 
a  knowledge  of  the  whole  art  of  which  it  forms  a  part. 

This  brings  us  to  the  only  valid  objection  against  the 
recognition  of  Dentistry  as  a  specialty  of  Medicine.  If  it 
be  true  that  dentists,  as  a  class,  have  a  more  defective 
education  than  other  specialists ;  if  it  be  true  that  a  large 
number  of  recognized  members  of  the  Dental  profession 
have  no  medical  education  whatever,  there  is  good  reason 
for  this  hesitancv. 


8 


Is  Dentistry,  then,  a  liberal  profession  ?  Yes,  certainlvy 
if  the  majority  of  its  members  are  men  of  liberal  education. 
Medicine  numbers  among  its  practitioners  very  many  half- 
educated  and  not  a  few  wholly  ignorant  men.  But  such  are 
not  the  men  who  to-day  control  that  profession;  or  who,  in 
the  past,  have  given  it  dignity  and  reputation. 

I  have  already  intimated  that  Dentists  are  too  prone  to 
spend  in  mechanical  details  time  which  should  be  given  to 
study,  and  to  adopt  the  popular  error  that  a  "mechanical 
turn"  is  the  one  grand  element  of  success.  It  is  indeed  a 
si7ie  qua  non,  without  which  the  selection  of  the  Dental 
branch  of  medicine  would  be  a  sad  waste  of  eifort.  But 
skill  without  education,  art  without  science,  cannot  be  called 
a  Profession  —  I  mean  in  the  modern  sense  in  which  that 
term  is  applied  to  Law,  Medicine,  and  the  Ministry. 

How  shall  we  separate  from  the  mass  of  those  who  call 
themselves  Dentists  such  as  may  justly  claim  to  be  members 
of  the  profession  of  Dentistry,  and,  by  virtue  of  this  claim, 
members  also  of  the  Medical  profession?  This  is  the  most 
imperative,  as  it  is  the  most  difficult,  duty  which  to-day  lies 
before  this  Academy.  Effort  in  this  direction  must  be  co- 
operative :  it  must  also  be  harmonious. 

Personally  you  are  each  responsible  for  your  individual 
reputation ;  personally,  however,  you  can  do  no  more  than 
add  a  unit  to  the  collective  reputation  of  the  profession. 
But,  by  associate  action,  you  can  decide  who  shall  unite 
wit;h  you  in  establishing  a  general  professional  character. 

Dental  societies,  associations,  and  academies  have  here- 


9 


tofore  suffered  other  and  less  important  objects  to  engross 
the  hours  of  conference.  Undoul^tedly  much  good  has  been 
done  l)y  such  meetings.  But  to  what  purpose  do  you  im- 
prove the  tiehl  of  your  hil)ors  unless  you  tirst  enclose  it, 
and  have  a  well  guarded  entrance  ?  What  harvest  can  ]:>e 
gathered  on  an  open  common? 

Gentlemen,  I  call  upon  you,  first  of  all,  to  establish  your 
metes  and  bounds,  and  enclose  your  domain;  for  then, 
and  only  then,  can  you  hope  to  reap  the  fruit  of  your  toil. 
Then,  with  some  hope  of  general  adoption,  can  you  frame  a 
code  of  professional  ethics,  and  encourage  gentlemen  to 
enter  the  profession  by  guaranteeing  them  the  courtesy  due 
to  gentlemen.  Then  can  you  establish  a  higher  standard  of 
work  than  cheapness,  and  bring  about  a  more  generous 
rivalry  than  underbidding  and  defamation.  For  you  well 
know  that  there  is  a  large  class  whose  actions,  unnecessary 
to  be  here  specified,  gTeatly  damage  the  character  of  the  pro- 
fession which  it  is  your  pride  to  honor.  You  must  exclude 
or  reform  them — and  that  by  no  half-way  measures  —  or  you 
must  fall  to  their  level. 

You  must  also  establish  a  Dental  Literature.  I  do  not 
mean  text  books,  although  these  might  be  increased  in  num- 
ber, and,  in  some  departments  of  the  art,  greatly  improved. 
I  do  not  refer  to  so-called  Dental  journals,  which,  for  the 
most  part,  are  chiefly  advertising  media  of  depots  or  col- 
leges. Xow  and  then  we  find  in  them  an  excellent  article  ; 
but  alas  I    what  an   iteration,  ad   nauseam,  of  experiences, 


10 


which  a  little  more  reading,  study,  and  general  education 
might  have  spared  both  writer  and  readers  I 

I  speak  of  thouohtful  and  well  written  monographs  and 
treatises,  which  shall  not  only  interest  the  dental,  but 
command  the  notice  and  approval  of  the  medical  profession ; 
articles,  showing  that  there  are  able  and  experienced  men  in 
your  profession  willing  to  spend  some  hours  for  its  advance- 
ment, not  measured  by  the  golden  rule  of  the  operating 
chair. 

Making  ample  allowance  for  difference  in  the  number  of 
physicians  and  dentists,  Ave  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
Dentistry  is  the  least  literary  of  all  the  departments  of  Med- 
icine. Let  us  charitably  attribute  this  to  the  modesty  of  a 
young  profession,  and  hope  for  better  da3^s. 

A  much  neglected  yet  most  important  element  of  Dental 
art  is  its  ^"Esthetics.  It  is  a  fact,  much  to  the  discredit  of 
the  profession,  that  many  forms  of  great  beauty  in  ceramic 
art  lie  in  dental  depots  unsought  for,  because  of  the  inca- 
pacity of  dentists  to  appreciate  and  use  them.  Thus  artistic 
genius  is  repressed  in  its  efforts  to  benefit  Dentistry,  and 
the  Art  itself  suffers  in  reputation,  because  it  seems  to  be 
incapable  of  what  it  can  really  accomplish.  Take  this  in 
connection  with  one  other  fact  —  that  second  and  third  rate 
appai-atus,  implements,  and  materials  find  more  ready  sale 
than  lirst  class  and  higher  priced  ones  —  and  we  are  brought 
to  the  melancholy  conclusion  that  not  only  is  there  too  little 
Science  amono^  dentists,   but  that  the  much  boasted  "Art 


11 


and  skill "  which  is  to  take  precedence  of  all  other  (jualifi- 
cation,  is  really  not  of  the  highest  order. 

I  frravelv  doubt  if  the  averao^e  mechanical  skill  exercised 
in  dental  offices  and  laboratories  would  l)e  tolerated  for  a 
day  in  any  machine-shop  in  the  land.  When  I  said  that  in 
mechanism  ^er  se  there  Avas  nothing  degrading,  I  referred  to 
no  such  work  as  this.  For  there  is  here  an  incompetence 
or  a  neglect  Avhich  has  nothing  to  excuse  or  redeem  it,  and 
which  is,  in  the  highest  degree,  disgraceful.  It  argues 
nothing  against  the  Dental  profession  to  condemn  such 
workers,  for  they  do  not  l^elong  to  it. 

I  have  reserved  for  hnal  consideration  the  duty  of  your 
Academy  in  the  matter  of  Dental  Education ;  for  in  this 
work  the  Academies  and  Societies  of  the  profession  must 
take  the  lead, — the  Colleges  play  only  a  subordinate  part, 
however  important.  ^Misapprehension  on  this  point  has  led 
some  of  the  best  men  of  the  profession  to  censure  our  col- 
leofes  with  undue  severitv. 

They  have  done  great  good,  and  their  teachers  have  gen- 
erously given  a  vast  amount  of  time,  thought,  and  labor  to 
the  cause  of  education.  I  say  given;  for  the  compensation, 
as  compared  with  that  awarded  to  dental  services,  has  ever 
been  paltry,,  and  has  often  been  in  the  form  of  actual  loss. 
Had  those  who  blame  been  half  so  faithful  to  their  office 
students,  as  college  professors  to  theirs,  the  schools  would 
have  had  better  material  to  deal  with.  Had  societies  en- 
forced compliance  with  the  standard  of  the  colleges,  low  as 
it  is,  we  should  to-day  have   had  a  far  higher  standard  of 


12 


professional  education.  As  it  is,  the  better  half  of  the 
young  men  of  the  profession  owe  more  to  the  colleges,  than 
to  any  other  single  influence. 

Although  therefore  not  failures,  in  that  they  have  done 
much  good,  yet  must  we  Avrite  on  the  walls  of  our  colleges 
the  sad  word  "  tekel."  They  have  been  "  weighed  in  the 
balances,  and  found  wanting,"  not  only  because  unsustained, 
but  because  organized  after  the  model  of  American  Medical 
schools.  ^Medicine  gains  no  honor  through  the  average 
medical  graduate  ;  and  more  credit  is  given  to  the  average 
dental  graduate,  only  because  so  mau}^  dentists  lack  even 
that  amount  of  preparation. 

The  American  physician  supplements  the  defect  of  his 
education  by  walking  the  hospitals  of  England  and  Europe. 
But  American  dentistry  so  far  excels  the  transatlantic  in 
her  Prosthetics,  that  Europe  comes  here  to  learn.  Where, 
then,  can  we  go  to  make  up  our  shortcomings  in  the  other 
branches  of  Dental  Education  ?  I  answer  :  by  remodelling 
the  entire  s^^stem  of  dental  instruction. 

All  Dental  Colleges  south  of  Boston  are  organized  upon 
the  plan  of  the  Baltimore  College  of  Dental  Surgery,  ta 
whose  principal  founder.  President  Chapin  A."  Hakkls,  the 
profession  is  so  greatly  indebted.  You  will,  I  trust,  acquit 
me  of  disparagement  or  disrespect  to  my  college,  the  Alma 
Mater  of  some  meml)ers  of  this  Academy,  if  I  tell  you  what 
I  think  are  the  grave  defects  of  this  organization,  as  time 
and  experience  have  revealed  them. 

First,  then  :  it  receives  students  without  preliminary  ex- 


13 


amination.  Xo  literary  college  does  this ;  aud  no  pro- 
fessioual  school  can  do  it,  without  gross  injustice  to  itself. 
It  is  hard  enough  to  be  compelled  to  crowd  four  years' 
teaching  into  eight  months.  .  But  when  the  recipients  of  this 
teaching  have  no  trained  habits  of  study  ;  know  nothing  of 
the  fu'st  elements  of  science,  and  have  not  even  such  slight 
knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek  as  enables  them  to  under- 
stand the  necessary  technicalities  of  Medicine, — then  is 
the  work  of  instruction  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage ; 
it   is,    truly,  "making  bricks  without  straw." 

Secondly  :  it  examines  for  graduation  after  two  terms  of 
study.  So  much  has  been  said  upon  this  point,  that  I  shall 
dismiss  it  Avith  one  remark.  The  profession  that  tolerates, 
for  its  raw  recruits,  less  than  four  years  of  diligent  study 
(mark  me,  I  do  not  mean  simply  four  courses  of  lectures), 
must  be  content  to  allow  its  colleges  to  send  out  many  grad- 
uates imperfectly  prepared  to  enter  its  ranks. 

Thirdly  :  the  Faculty  are  the  Examiners  for  graduation. 
One  of  three  evils  is  unavoidable.  The  professor  must  hold 
himself  sternly  aloof  from  his  pupils,  thus  loosing  one  of 
the  most  effective  aids  to  his  teaching  —  tlie  friendly  word 
of  advice  and  encouragement.  Or  he  must  do  grievous 
violence  to  his  feelings  by  rejecting  those,  whose  struggling 
progress  he  has  watched  and  aided  with  such  interest.  Or 
he  must  risk  the  character  of  the  profession  and  of  his 
school  by  giving  honor  to  those  unworthy  of  it. 

No  teacher  should  be  placed  in  this  dilemma.  The  Eng- 
lish examiner  gets  handsomely  out  of  it,  by  retiring  from  the 


14 


room,  if  the  student  chances  to  be  even  socially  and  ever 
so  slightly  kno>Yn  to  him.  I  commend  the  English  custom 
for  American  adoption,  well  satisfied  that,  until  exammers 
and  teachers  are  totally  distinct  bodies,  no  diploma  can  be 
quite  clear  fi*om  suspicion  of  partialit3\ 

It  is  said  that  Faculties  are  afraid  to  be  rigid  in  examina- 
tion, for  fear  students  will  prefer  a  more  lenient  school. 
Tli^^^e  sooner  such  a  school  ceases  to  have  graduates  the  bet- 
ter. But  gentlemen,  in  justice  to  students,  permit  me  to 
give,  as  the  result  of  my  twenty  years'  experience,  that  all 
students,  who  deserve  the  name,  respect  and  love  most  those 
teachers  who  put  them  through  the  severest  drill. 

To  the  Boston  Faculty  of  Dentistry  I  tender  this  word  of 
advice  :  Be  as  radical  in  your  profession  as  you  were  in  your 
politics.  Refusing  to  compromise  with  slaver}^  you,  with  a 
high  hand,  abolished  it.  Do  not,  then,  be  yourselves  slaves 
to  the  past,  through  timid  fear  of  the  consequences  of  radi- 
cal innovation.  As  Alumni  of  the  Baltimore  School,  give 
your  Alma  ]\Iater  all  honor  for  what  she  has  done,  but  do 
not  copy  her  mistakes. 

Thirt^^-three  years  is  an  average  human  life,  but  a  very 
short  period  in  the  existence  of  a  profession.  Dental  edu- 
cation may,  without  shame,  confess  the  errors  of  its  infancy, 
especially  if  this  confession  throws  light  upon  the  pathway 
of  the  future.  The  new  experiment  can  come  from  no  city 
with  better  grace,  than  from  the    modern  Athens. 

May  I,  gentlemen  of  the  College  and  the  Academy,  wish- 
ing heartily  success  to  your  eftbrts,  offer  for  your  considera- 
tion a  few  parting  words. 


V) 


Under  the  shadow  of  old  Harvtird,  do  not  make  your 
connection  with  her  Faculty  a  pretence  and  a  sham  by 
accepting  students,  who  haA'e  not  pursued  an  honoral^le 
course  of  literary  study. 

Working  in  harmou}'  with  the  ]Medical  School,  do  not  dis- 
honor your  specialty  b}^  accepting  from  your  graduates  any 
lower  grade  of  medical  knowledge,  than  is  required  for  the 
occulist,  aurist,  or  general  surgeon. 

Build  up  for  Dentistry  what  other  departments  of  Medi- 
cine possess  in  their  magniticent  hospitals,  asylums,  and 
infirmaries.  For  medical  education  is  rapidly  resolving 
itself  into  clinical  instruction  in  specialties.  The  time,  I 
think,  is  not  very  distant  when  a  rigorous  examination  in 
the  science  of  general  medicine  will  be  demanded  as  essen- 
tial to  admission  to  the  wards  of  all  hospitals  for  specific 
diseases,  and  when  years  spent  in  the  best  of  such  institu- 
tions will  be  the  only  recognized  qualification  for  the  practice 
of  any  medical  specialty. 

If  the  College  will  thus  acquit  itself,  and  the  Academy 
will  labor  in  connection  with  other  societies  in  the  States  for 
the  establishment  of  a  "  Supreme  Court,"  whose  decisions 
as  to  professional  character  shall  be  final  —  Dentistry  will 
enter  upon  its  manhood  under  auspices  which  will  attract 
her  right  proportion  of  the  genius,  talent,  and  energy  of 
the  country,  and  will  reflect  back  upon  her  nieml)ers  the 
honor  and  dignity  which  she  receives  from  them. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9-116?n-8,'62(D1237s8)444 


